Just How Much Trash Do We Produce? These Powerful Photos of People Lying in A Week's Worth of Garbage Will Give You an Idea

Despite your efforts to recycle and be more conscious of the environment, the United States still has a trash problem. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found that the average American accumulates more than four pounds of trash on a daily basis. By comparison, we produce 50 percent more garbage than Western Europeans. To raise awareness of this growing problem, photographer Gregg Segal created an eye-opening photo series that helps people better visualize the problem.

His project 7 Days of Garbage saw friends, family members, and even some strangers from California lying in the garbage they produced in one week. Segal tried to include people from various socioeconomic backgrounds to make his project more representative of America as a whole. Some participants volunteered to pose for the photo series, while others received compensation.

Segal staged the photo shoot in his own backyard, using natural materials to turn his lawn into various settings, such as a forest floor, beach, and even a body of water. "I shot from above to make it very clinical and clean and graphic," the photographer told Slate. "It’s kind of a nest, a bed we’re lying in with all this stuff, forcing us to reconcile what we’re producing, which hopefully causes some people to think a little bit more about what they’re consuming." Head over to Slate's piece for more details, and check out some of his powerful photos above. You can't deny its effect.